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This happens every now and again, probably less than once a month, it bangs/clicks really loudly about 4-5 times, only lasts a few seconds, we dont lose pressure, and everything goes back to normal straight after.

What is it?

I have called British gas out before for this and they have changed thermostats in the boiler and obviously have not fixed it. I am on Home care with BG but i feel they dont really care much for investigaton.

the flow of water to the boiler is insufficient
or
steam bubbles are causing hot spots in the boiler, this is caused by corrosion and scale forming in the boiler. add non acidic cleanser and de-scaler to the feed and expansion tank. give it a day or 2 to do its work and everything should be ok

the flow of water to the boiler is insufficient
or
steam bubbles are causing hot spots in the boiler, this is caused by corrosion and scale forming in the boiler. add non acidic cleanser and de-scaler to the feed and expansion tank. give it a day or 2 to do its work and everything should be ok

as much as i hate advertising go to that well known diy chain that crops up in every square inch of business park aka B&Q. dont just ask one of the thicko's on teh shop floor. we have one near us next to a morrisons. my brother went in and asked for some biscuits (most of you will know these are used to join bits of wood together) the stupid spatula told my brother that he was in the wrong place and he wanted the supermarket next door.
so anyway, go to customer service and ask them there, they'll get a half educated fool to sort it for you

About a month ago I treated our system with Sentinel x200 de-scaler and noise reducer bought from a local plumbers merchant for £9.65. I was very sceptical that it would actually work but after a few days the system was quiet again! Drain the header tank and put the Sentinel directly into the header tank outlet, rather than just pouring it into the header tank.

I shall watch this thread with interest as i have the same problem. Although we dont have a stand alone boiler, ours is a back boiler behind the gas fire etc. The noise it makes though sometimes relaly is quite scary. It happens at least once a week. The last time it happened i heard a really loud crash and bang noise and was expecting to hear someone shout out from upstairs as i thought someone or something had fell. It was the boiler/pipes or whatever it is making the noise.
We live in a council house though and im tempted to ring them up but i reckon they would think im a bit strange ringing to say ' i need someone to come out and look at the heating as its making funny noises'!!
I shall watch and see how you get on first.

I shall watch this thread with interest as i have the same problem. Although we dont have a stand alone boiler, ours is a back boiler behind the gas fire etc. The noise it makes though sometimes relaly is quite scary. It happens at least once a week. The last time it happened i heard a really loud crash and bang noise and was expecting to hear someone shout out from upstairs as i thought someone or something had fell. It was the boiler/pipes or whatever it is making the noise.
We live in a council house though and im tempted to ring them up but i reckon they would think im a bit strange ringing to say ' i need someone to come out and look at the heating as its making funny noises'!!
I shall watch and see how you get on first.

by jaxxy00”

i could be wrong but it sounds like air in the pipes. id ring em up could me something and nothing but better safe than sorry. also ask them when your boiler is going to be changed as part of the better homes program.

as for me not liking b&q, i do like them, but in very small quantities. nothing against students but at least employ students with some knowledge. the people that work in the one hear me are about as much use as tits on a fish

About a month ago I treated our system with Sentinel x200 de-scaler and noise reducer bought from a local plumbers merchant for £9.65. I was very sceptical that it would actually work but after a few days the system was quiet again! Drain the header tank and put the Sentinel directly into the header tank outlet, rather than just pouring it into the header tank.

Well assuming that you actually have a header tank in your loft for your central heating system, you just need to drain off some water from a drain tap which should be fitted to the downstairs radiators. I just drained off a couple of bucket fulls to empty the header tank but not the whole system.

If you don't have a header tank, this Sentinel stuff can be bought in an alternative package, which can be injected into a radiator bleed valve. see here for this method.

The type of header tank we had years ago we had to top it up from time to time...maybe every 6 months..when we forgot obviously the water became lower in the rads and caused some really loud odd noises in the pipes=air....the boiler made various noises too at times but cannot remember the reasons...except it was 25 years old and had steel pipes instead of copper due to a shortage of copper at that time...apparently....late 60's servowarm...British Gas Engineer should be called back to sort it I feel.We have there Gas Service contract and have had good service with them so far...as in we had a problem they where not sure so changed a very expensive part that covered a multitude of things!!!!...solved

If you have a header tank and cannot find ad drain point you could simply bale some water out into a bucket. You don't have to drain the tank completely, just enough to get the descaler in.

by economiser”

Not really because the descaler is concentrated and is only one litre. If you just pour it into the header tank, it will most probably still be there next year unless water is drained off to ensure that it actually circulates around the system though the boiler.

I have the same problem, BG did try putting stuff into the system but didn't work for me. When we fitted a new radiator, OH had to go out and buy what BG had put in to replace it and it was £50! They had left the paperwork with me with the name, can't remember now.
I dread winter as it can happen twice a day and scares my kids to death as it sounds like thunder in the loft!
I can always tell when mine is going to go as one radiator gets really hot and you can hear a dripping noise in the pipes.
The system usually shuts itself off with the 'overheat' thingy..
BG been out loads of times now but they have said unless they are there when it happens thay can't really see anything wrong.
I have found them to be really good and they do try different things.

if you look at the valves on your radiators around the house, you have a thermostat on one side and a valve on the other to turn off the supply to that radiator. on one of the radiators, usually the one nearest an outside door, there will be an extra valve soldered onto the pipe just before it connects to the radiator. it looks like a small ribbed piece with a square valve, much the same as a bleed valve, in the centre of it. this is where you would drain from

can anyone submit a pic of what to look for for a drain tap? also if i drain it, how do i top it up? is it a job for a complete novice like me?

Does anyone know if BG will treat this under their agreement?

by robodan”

This is a typical drain c0ck:

They should be fitted underneath downstairs rads or at the lowest point of the system.

To drain the header tank, turn of cold water supply, attach a hose to the drain c0ck and open, fill up a couple of buckets and then put the descaler into the header tank. Turn the water on again and bleed the rads to get any air out. Leave it to do it's stuff while it circulates around the system and through the boiler.

British Gas are more likely to tell you that you need a new boiler because they get commission on sales!

I have a similar problem, with what I assume to be air bubbles. These cause loud noises for a few seconds every now and then. But how can I ensure the cleaner goes into the indirect pipe circuit for my hot water system and stays there? Second, how do you 'bleed' such a system of air? Also, should you ensure a chemical is left in the indirect circuit to prevent the return of corrosion?

I have no central heating - just hot water heating. There's a header tank in the loft and an 'indirect' copper water cylinder in the airing cupboard on the first floor. A burner on the ground floor heats water and sends it round an 'indirect' coil in the middle of the cylinder. It's a very common arrangement.

If the indirect circuit is drained, it gets topped up from the main cylinder. Perhaps it has a one-way valve. How else would they stop any chemicals (in the indirect circuit) going into the main water in the tank?

I have a similar problem, with what I assume to be air bubbles. These cause loud noises for a few seconds every now and then. But how can I ensure the cleaner goes into the indirect pipe circuit for my hot water system and stays there? Second, how do you 'bleed' such a system of air? Also, should you ensure a chemical is left in the indirect circuit to prevent the return of corrosion?

I have no central heating - just hot water heating. There's a header tank in the loft and an 'indirect' copper water cylinder in the airing cupboard on the first floor. A burner on the ground floor heats water and sends it round an 'indirect' coil in the middle of the cylinder. It's a very common arrangement.

If the indirect circuit is drained, it gets topped up from the main cylinder. Perhaps it has a one-way valve. How else would they stop any chemicals going into the main water in the tank?

Regards
George

by George_Bray”

An indirect hot water tank has a coil inside to heat the contents of the tank which is kept entirely separate from the boiler circuit. You should be able to follow the pipework to see how it works and find a bleed valve. The Sentinel x200 is supposed to be left in the system.

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